Ɛpsilon

From W. M. Hacon   20 December 1878

18, Fenchurch Street, | London. | E.C.

20th Decr. 1878

My dear Sir

I have received your letter of yesterday with the unexecuted duplicate of the 2nd. codicil to your will & the two letters from Mr Anthony Rich of the 7th. & 10th. Instant.1 And I hope to write to you, within the next few days, as to the carrying out of your testamentary wishes, as communicated by your letter. My present opinion is that it will be better to increase the gifts to your daughters unconditionally.2 It would be unsatisfactory to make the operation of the intended increased gift to your daughters depend upon your estate deriving some benefit from Mr Rich’s will or codicil

I am | My dear Sir | Yours very truly | Wm. M Hacon

Charles R. Darwin Esqre | Down | Beckenham | Kent

1
CD’s letter has not been found; he sent Rich’s letters of 7 December 1878 and 10 December 1878. CD had made a second codicil to his will in March (see letter from W. M. Hacon, 19 March 1878).
2
In his letter to Rich of 12 December 1878, CD mentioned that he expected to leave his will unaltered, that is, with property equally divided among his sons after a share had been paid to his two daughters. CD evidently contemplated how he might increase the share for his daughters, Henrietta Emma Litchfield and Elizabeth Darwin. CD’s sons were William Erasmus, George Howard, Francis, Leonard, and Horace Darwin.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-11800,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-11800